NZ’S green label at risk - OECD report

New Zealand’s environment is under increasing stress because of an economy reliant on primary industries, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says.

It appeared to be resulting in environmental trade-offs, which put the country’s ’’green’’ reputation at risk, it said.

In a just-released report, the OECD urged New Zealand to come up with a long-term vision to transition to a greener, low-carbon economy.

The OECD comprises 35 countries and aims to stimulate economic development. It releases a country-specific environmental performance report every 10 years.

Its latest report found New Zealanders generally enjoy a healthy environment, but an economy dependent on natural resources was taking its toll.

In particular, the continued expansion of dairy farming and increasing urbanisation were having detrimental environmental effects.

It said if economic growth accounted for the cost of pollution abatement, New Zealand’s GDP would be declining, suggesting economic growth was coming at the expense of the environment.

‘‘New Zealand’s growth model has begun to show its environmental limits, with increased greenhouse gas emissions and waste generation, freshwater contamination and threats to biodiversity,’’ the report said.

’’This may indicate that New Zealand’s strong growth has come partly at the expense of environmental quality, a dynamic that puts the country’s ‘green’ reputation at risk.’’

It said that could impact New Zealand’s global competitiveness, as investors were looking towards sustainability and strong environmental performance.

The report made 50 recommendations on a range of topics.

It detailed the environmental impact of farming intensification, and warned freshwater pollution would continue under current economic growth plans.

New Zealand’s nitrogen balance had worsened more than any other OECD country between 1998 and 2009, primarily because of farming intensification.

‘‘There is mounting tension between increasing the economic contribution of the primary production sector and improving environmental quality,’’ the report said.

’’Given the large proportion of land in pastoral farming (half of New Zealand’s land mass), the link between pastoral intensification and declining water quality has been increasingly acknowledged.’’

While the Government had committed to improving water quality, its plans to double primary industry exports by 2025 appeared to be contradictory, the report said.

It also said the Government should review its planned $400 million investment in irrigation schemes, a process which ‘‘lacks systematic consideration of environmental and community costs’’.

The OECD report noted longstanding issues with biodiversity loss. New Zealand’s species extinction rate is among the highest in the world.

Prime Minister Bill English said he did not agree that New Zealand’s reputation was at risk.

‘‘I think we’ve got a very good environmental reputation, and actually helped by the way we’ve really got to grips with the detail of how to improve our infrastructure, change our farming systems, how to measure progress. We’re really dealing with the issues.’’